There is a meaningful and significant textual variant at Luke 23:34 in our Bibles. The variant has been placed in brackets in the following citation:

[But Jesus was saying, “Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing.”] And they cast lots, dividing up His garments among themselves.

It may be something of a surprise to learn that many scholars (even those scholars who believe the Bible to be the very word of God) are not convinced that these words (attributed to Christ) were actually part of the original New Testament text.

Dr. James White is a critical consultant for the New American Standard Bible Update (1995). Here he is (below) discussing this verse with Alan Kurschner.

It really is a fascinating study, lasting just under an hour. Along the way, we learn a great deal about the field of textual criticism which seeks to ascertain the original words of the Bible.

Here is a link to the two graphics referred to in the program. The first is the textual data taken from Reuben Swanson, New Testament Greek Manuscripts: Luke (London, 1998) and the second is a blow up of the relevant portion of Codex Sinaiticus:

For those who would like to read a recent article on this same theme by Alan Kurschner, here is a link to check out.